Covid-19 and the significant changes it presents are forcing new ways of working, including for humanitarian responders. In Indonesia, the government response to the crisis has been criticised internally and internationally as slow and lacking transparency. Senior government figures downplayed the

In March, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global ceasefire, urging solidarity against the common threat posed by Covid-19 and stating that the “only war we should be waging is the war against Covid-19”. But while we are all focusing on this new “war”, actual wars are

The power of positive thinking is one of the most underrated factors in development – the idea that success is achievable. Vincent Cable looks to escape the negative narratives on aid and to focus on the good it does – an important reminder nowadays, when the urge to slash aid budgets arises

The Covid-19 pandemic means that more low- and middle-income economies are more reliant on multilateral development banks. Despite the media focus on “mask diplomacy” (or the lack of it) from individual countries, most notably China, development bank lending has been the largest external source

China’s role in the outbreak of the biggest pandemic since 1918 – both in terms of how it started and how China managed its response – has come into global focus. China is sharing what it has learned and assisting other countries to manage their own response. Its actions are being met with

22 April marked the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. While Bill McKibben reminds us of the origins of the celebration, Richard Deverell argues that this year’s event could signal a turning point where we stop taking the planet for granted.New research by Sonia Bhalotra et. al shows that reserving

Of all the regions in the world, the twin health and economic crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have the potential to hit the Pacific the hardest.
Pacific Island nations supported Australia during our bushfire crisis, sending members of their defence forces and making donations to communities

The first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded in China starting in December last year. We watched on with growing alarm, but thought that it wouldn’t happen here.
The second wave has been unfolding from mid-February onwards in the rich countries of the world (as well as Iran). Some have

With confirmed Covid-19 cases now well past the million mark, most of the world is looking inward. Many countries feel overwhelmed by their local fight against the virus. But while some countries are just coping, others face a choice between stopping the pandemic or a famine. Most likely they will

Six locations across the Pacific Islands region now have confirmed cases of Covid-19. Many of these countries are already ravaged with major diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, dengue, diabetes, and occasionally even polio. So Pacific politicians are all too conscious of the potential of any

The humanitarian system is facing unprecedented uncertainty in the midst of the biggest pandemic since 1918. Over the last 10 years, the requirements for emergency relief programs have consistently outstripped resources – before the outbreak of Covid-19, efforts were aimed to address the needs of

Airlines are cancelling up to 90% of flights due to the rapid decline in travel brought on by Covid-19. Most of the world is being encouraged, or ordered, not to fly, and mandatory self-isolation is increasing common anyone arriving in more and more countries. That’s if they are allowed to enter

Millions of people in the developing world are at risk from coronavirus. These countries lack the economic resources and medical infrastructure of their more developed counterparts but can learn lessons from their response and benefit from their support.
The situation
Earlier this year, when the

The Covid-19 pandemic comes precisely at a time when Australia needs to keep sight of our Pacific neighbours and to offer strategic support and help in dire times.
With the 2020–21 Federal Budget now deferred until October, gauging what Covid-19 means for the Australian aid budget is impossible

Is development aid an effective solution to lifting countries out of poverty? Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program, and Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant write on aid and corruption. Originally published in the Devpolicy Blog

World Bank President David Malpass reminds us how women empowerment can foster the full economic potential of a country. In this piece he explains what the Bank does to facilitate the economic power of women.The spread of Covid-19 has so far mostly involved countries with decent health systems. But

A review is underway into Australian aid policy, with consultations run across the country, and the public, scholars, and aid groups alike offering submissions ­– some of which are expected to be released in the coming weeks. Early indications from the Minister for International Development and

This year we celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March (with the theme #EachforEqual), the 25th anniversary of the UN Beijing Platform for Action, and the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 inaugurating the Women, Peace, and Security agenda. At the Raisina Dialogue in New

The World Bank research body was blocked from publishing – and then subsequently allowed – a new paper exploring how 7.5% of the money the international organisation had sent to developing countries was being stashed in secret offshore banks.Melissa Conley Tyler challenges the way development

Does foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing economies lead to investors shopping around for weak regulations and more pollution, or does it promote green growth? Tim Philips from VoxDev talks to Beata Javorcik, looking at the particular case of Indonesia.Terence Wood and Sherman Surandiran

Indonesia’s booming economy has been growing between 5% and 6% for years and its GDP (PPP) is well ahead of Australia’s. A G20 member, it is proud of its new status as an emerging middle-class country, with PricewaterhouseCoopers predicting it will be among the world’s top five economies by

Eromo Egbejule explains how a tweak to an immigration system in a richer country – such as Canada – can negatively impact a developing one by siphoning skilled professionals. Many are highly educated and would likely make outsize contributions to their own state’s economy, tax revenue, and

Book Review: Anand Giridharadas, Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (Penguin, 2019)
It’s a seductive idea – the notion that we can “do good” for people and the planet while also profiting from the status quo, that we can make a difference without it really

The “Australia–China–Papua New Guinea Pilot Cooperation on Malaria Control Project” is one of the most famous aid projects in the Pacific.
It is not a large project. Indeed, at $1.3 million per year it represents only about 0.2% of Australia’s bilateral aid spending in PNG. Its fame

By gathering retail prices from around the world, William Masters and colleagues examine the affordability of the EAT-Lancet healthy diet, and find out that many people around the world cannot afford such food.The Kenyan government is forcing importers to use a costly new Chinese-built railway from

Australia and China cooperating in the Pacific Islands? At first glance it seems absurd.
Australia-China relations are hardly warm and glowing right now. Just in the last few weeks, there’s been a focus on alleged espionage courtesy of Wang Liqiang, claims of attempted political

To solve the social costs of congestion, such as long commuting times and high pollution, cities in developing counties often turn to Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. But in Indonesia, BRT made things worse. Arya Gaduh et al. look at the case of TransJakarta to understand why.Yuhua Wang explains the

2014 marked the 70th anniversary of the Bretton Woods conference, and it was a turning point for the global financial architecture. In July that year, the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – established the New Development Bank (NDB). A few months earlier, China

Since coming into office in 2013, the Coalition has cut aid by 17% in nominal terms and 27% adjusting for inflation. More cuts are in the pipeline, and by 2021 aid will have been subject to a real cut of 31%.
Given that the Coalition’s justification for cutting aid was the budget deficit, you

The big boost
When Prime Minister Scott Morrison put the South Pacific at the centre of his foreign policy priorities last year, the relatively low-profile Export Finance Insurance Corporation was suddenly thrust into the strategic limelight.
But last week’s foray into a form of state

Among all the things the Oecussi enclave in Timor-Leste needed for its development, a luxury hotel, a state-of-the-art airport, and posh villas weren’t high on the list. Michael Rose looks at the implementation of the original concept behind the “development” of the region.In 1995, more than

Bryan Caplan makes the argument for his “Trillion Dollar Idea” – international open borders, which would allow productive labour to work in productive places.A group of Stanford researchers found Russian-run fake Facebook accounts attempting to influence public political opinion in four

“Category 5 strength cyclones have occurred in some years with similar conditions leading into the 2019/20 season,” New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research recently reported. “Therefore, all communities should remain alert and well-prepared for severe events.”

In the last two years China’s engagement in the Pacific – particularly through its aid program – has sparked alarm in Canberra. The spiking orange line in 2017 is part of the story.
In 2017 China committed to spend almost US$5 billion in the Pacific. US$4.1 billion of that was to upgrade

“Debt trap” diplomacy has been a recurrent rallying cry for critics of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its overseas infrastructure lending activities. Over the past two years, this debate has taken centre stage in the Pacific, with China accused of drowning these tiny economies in

Three development specialists (MIT economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, and Harvard economist Michael Kremer) won the Nobel Prize in Economics for their groundbreaking work on global poverty, studying interventions in a range of areas: combating teacher absenteeism, direct cash transfers to

In the varied debates about influence in the Pacific, rarely does Japan’s position in the region feature prominently. On the off chance that Japan’s presence in the Pacific is discussed, its “aid diplomacy” is usually characterised in quid pro quo terms.
Yet a closer examination of Japan

In response to Donald Trump’s scepticism about climate change, French President Emmanuel Macron is now offering US scientists four-year grants to move to France and carry out research on global warming.In this blog and working paper, Lauren Post, Rachel Landry and Cindy Huang argue that both the

The Pacific Islands are grappling with the effects of disasters and climate change, which have the potential to make entire countries inhospitable, posing significant development challenges.
Small Pacific Islands countries have limited natural resources, are far from major markets, and are

Each year, former World Bank economist David Evans releases his five tips on education. This year, among his key findings are: let your kids learn from MTV, go to school, don’t just enrol, and education is not just for children anymore.Mark Hayward looks at a program that has embraced adaptive

In August last year, the Lowy Institute launched our flagship Pacific research project, the Pacific Aid Map. Foreign aid is an important resource flow for many parts of the Pacific, making up 7% of regional GDP. Leaving out Fiji and Papua New Guinea, this number shoots up to 27%. But the world of

Media forecasts ahead of natural disasters are often misunderstood. The New York Times has a great visual piece about trying to communicate statistical uncertainty about hurricane paths.Linda Calabrese offers a very interesting view on China and development issues, from domestic inequality to debt

Fin Tarp and Sinikka Parviainen discuss the economic benefits of migration and refugees.An African doctor is believed to have found anti-Ebola drugs, with an efficiency rate of 90%. Zimbabwe’s former finance minister explains the deep roots of the economic crisis in the country at the time of

This month, Timor-Leste is in a festive mood, celebrating the 20th anniversary of its independence referendum. On 30 August 1999, the people of Timor-Leste cast their ballots in a United Nations–administered popular consultation to determine the fate of the country, with 78.5% voting to separate

China is changing the way Australia’s political elites think about aid. Chinese aid to the Pacific isn’t new, but in recent years, “China the aid donor” has become an unavoidable presence. In response, the Australian government is increasing the Pacific focus of its aid programs. It has also

Car crash rates run high across the world, and often proportionally higher in developing countries. But a simple nudge can change this. In India, a firm is now using behavioural science to decrease the number of accidents on the roads.Why do parents invest in girls’ education? In this analysis

Despite the recent spotlight on Chinese aid and labels of China as an “emerging donor”, China has actually been delivering foreign aid since as far back as the 1950s. Indeed, China provided aid to North Korea for reconstruction purposes after the Korean War, along with Cambodia, Nepal and Egypt